February 13, 2018

January Books 2018


Always You by Denise Grover Swank B-
I read this in one night because it's an easy read with a rom-com plot.

This was the 3rd book in the Bachelor Brotherhood series. I adored the first book, the second was meh-ish, and this was just okay as well. I appreciated the chick-flickness of it, because it was obviously predictable, but it wasn't as good as that first book: Only You. Also, I've always been a fan of this author's covers.



Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie DNF for now
I added this to my Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge for the year and I will read it. I got like 40% in and then the library snatched it back.

Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman DNF
I'd been eyeing this up for months, and it was like 98 cents on Daily Deals, so I grabbed it back in January. I was expecting something similar to Teacher Man by Frank McCourt but it is not like that. It's a fictional account based off of the author's real life but I think I would've enjoyed memoir-style much more. This didn't captivate me.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng A
I wrote a separate review of this with a few spoilers. I really enjoyed it.

Deadly Summer by Denise Grover Swank ....TBD
Meh. It hasn't pulled me in and I'm not even done with it. It's getting better (doesn't it always take time for a series to get off the ground a bit?). I'll finish it but this isn't boding well for a great reading month because all that. I should probably cut my losses and move on, but it's on my Kindle, so I will eventually finish it.

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What I'm doing, regarding reading, is NOT working for me these days. I've been craving more, without having to sit and read because I'm not patient enough for that. While I currently have four actual books I'm in the middle of, I also downloaded Audible again because they offered me a deal of $9 a month for 3 months. I'll re-evaluate again after that.

I'm currently working on...


Britt-Marie is a library book so I need to get on with that, Deadly Summer was included on this link-up because I've been in the middle of it for two weeks and fully expected to be done with it by now, Prairie Fires is non-fiction and I read a bit at a time, and Sworn to Silence is the book I actually want to sit and read but I feel like I need to finish the others first.

If only my reading game was as strong as my TV-watching one.

I'll definitely read at least 30 books this year, because that's the slightly lower goal I've set on Goodreads so as not to stress myself out, but I'm off to a pitiful start.

How's your reading year going so far???

Linking up with Jana and Steph!

17 comments:

  1. I have to be in a particular mood to read certain books--and sometimes I don't know what mood that is. So I totally feel you on the getting stuck in the middle phase thing. Thanks for sending Little Fires Everywhere! I'm working my way through a couple of library books right now but it's on my list for once these books have to go back!

    (Special trick if you read library books on a traditional kindle. If so--turn the wifi off (or put it on airplane mode) after you're done downloading the library books. Don't turn it back on until after you're done with the book! The library can't snatch it if it's not connected to the internet!)

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  2. I hope audiobooks end up working better for you! I'm actually better at reading than watching TV/movies so there are SO many things I'd love to watch and yet never do. haha

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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  3. Is Murder on the Orient a long book? I got that on my library list too & if its super long, I may just skip it & wait for it to go on sale on Kindle.

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  4. I'm struggling with Little Fires right now.. I thought about giving it up, but it has good waves of stuff in between.

    Do you have a library card? I have Overdrive, and get books from my library through that app. It's pretty awesome.

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  5. How are you liking Britt Marie? She was a character in the Backman book I just read (My Grandmother Sends her Regards and Apologizes) and I wasn't a big fan of her until the end of that book. Now I am intrigued to read this one. I like to do a mix of audiobooks and paper because sometimes audiobooks just make it easier to get other things done (i.e. commuting, cleaning, exercising) :)

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  6. oh glad you liked little fires everywhere, i'll have to read your separate review (one day i will catch up on blogs... one day). how rude of the library to steal the book back. i am attempting it on audio and i've made it like 5 minutes lol. i'm sure i'll finish it soon-ish. i also signed back up to audible because of that $9 deal. i mean, i have 20 books in my library (not exaggerating) so i didn't need anymore but i can't say no to that deal. i will cancel when those 3 months are up.
    i've been reading like crazy this year so far, i will fizzle out soon and that's when i'll get back into tv watching. ups and downs and all that.

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  7. LOL - "If only my reading game was as strong as my TV-watching one." Mine too. Granted, my TV watching game is so strong because I do others while I watch TV. You can't do that with reading! I really need to read Little Fires Everywhere.

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  8. Haha sometimes my tv- watching game is crazy and other times I won't turn on the tv unless the BF wants to watch it. Its weird!

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  9. I really love audiobooks. I get them from my library and find that they make my commute so much more enjoyable and at least half to 75% of all books I read are consumed that way right now. It is just what works best with my lifestyle. Hopefully you enjoy it! $9 a month sounds like a good deal. Little Fires Everywhere and Murder on the Orient Express are on my TBR.

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  10. I like your grading system, maybe I should try that--stars sometimes stress me out! You'll have to update us on how how it goes with Audible. I'm too cheap to currently have it, but I've been getting into audiobooks lately and get impatient with the library's platform.

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  11. I’m so glad you liked Little Fires.

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  12. My library has a service called Hoopla with audiobooks. They also have Overdrive, so until I run out of books on both of those, I'm good to go! I get on reading kicks where I'll read/listen to a ton, then I won't read anything for weeks. I've got to balance it out!

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  13. I've seen Murder on the Orient Express on at least 3 or 4 blogs today. Something must be in the water. LOL! I just realized that I've never read anything by Agatha Christie, which is kind of pathetic on my part. I may need to change that soon.

    I have Britt Marie coming up in the next month or so (for Erin's challenge). I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on it once you're finished.

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  14. I loved Little Fires Everywhere as well, though I know I mentioned that when I commented on your previous post about it. :-)

    Sometimes it's hard to find a good reading groove. My year started off really strong with a few amazing books (including Little Fires Everywhere), but lately I feel like I've been reading so slowly. I think it's a mixture of "meh" books and trying to balance reading time with time for everything else. The book I'm reading now (Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda) is good so far, but I still don't feel like I'm making as much progress as I should. All I know is that I need to finish it by Friday ... I can't renew it from the library because there's a waiting list.

    I hope you get your reading groove back soon!

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  15. I really liked Little Fires and I hate it when a library ebook disappears before I've finished it - especially if someone else is waiting for it and I can't renew. I think that's why I've started requesting both the ebook and real book - they're sometimes available at the same time and I have a back-up. Sad, really. :)

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  16. I have Murder on the Orient Express buried somewhere in my to-read stacks, but I have so many books in my to-read stacks that I can't remember where it is!

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